String review - D'Addario EXL220BT balanced tension strings

[isaac42]

I know they've been out for a while, and I like the idea of balanced tension strings, but I hadn't seen any locally, so never tried them. A couple of weeks ago, I broke a string (I really don't change my strings as often as I should!) and the replacement didn't match up well with the rest of the set, so, cheap bastage that I am, I went to my local shop and bought a new set.

 

Being cheap, when the proprietor suggested a set he had for $12, I took a look. It was D'Addario EXL220BT set, of which he had several on consignment. Balanced tension, extra light gauge. 40-95. I thought they'd be too light for that band, which plays tuned down a half step, but I wanted to try them, and couldn't beat the price.

 

I took them home and restrung the bass. Took it to the show that night. Some new-string zing, but not too much as they're nickel, not stainless steel. Definitely light. Light strings downtuned, there's not a lot of tension, and not a lot of stiffness, either, so the bass felt different. Also, it's a Ric, which means that the scale is a bit shorter than other basses (33¼" instead of 34"), and that contributes to the low tension and stiffness as well. On the other hand, Ric recommends light gauge strings for their basses.

 

They sounded good. I thought the low E balanced better with the other strings than with any other set I can recall. The balanced tension was reflected in balanced stiffness, which felt good to me. But I thought that the stiffness was too low, due to the extra light gauge, lowered tuning and shorter scale. For that band, I'll replace them with a heavier gauge such as the D'Addario EXL1270BT (45-107). But I liked them enough to buy another set to try with another band I play with that plays in standard tuning. If they're still too light, I'll try them on a 34" scale bass.

 

Conclusion: great strings, especially for the price. I recommend them for anyone who likes extra light gauge strings on their bass. I also think that they are best suited to players who use a light touch. I personally would not try them on a short scale bass, as I think they'd be too floppy.

[lug]

The only balanced set of strings I've tried are the Kalium Strings (formerly Circle K) on my L2000....love 'em! Got the Hybrid set at 102. Sound and tension are both almost perfect for me. [h=2][/h]

[WRGKMC]

Ricks have thin necks but they do have dual trusses so you probably don't have much changes in relief switching gauges or down tuning. If I were to switch to a lighter gauge of strings and/or down tune on my Hofner I'd be having to adjust the string height up to get rid of string buzz. The neck is dead flat with no truss tension using light strings at normal tuning. I'd likely have some back bow low tuned.

 

If you low tune all the time, what you really want are thick core strings which are designed for low tuning. They have greater tension because of the thicker cores so when you down tune they give the neck the same tension as strings tuned to concert pitch. Then you wont have the spongy notes or wonky string vibrations caused when they are under tuned. Your pitches and intonation wont suffer either.

 

When you down tune normal string the tension per string doesn't decrease linearly. You can easily confirm that by counting the number of turns you make on your tuners. The low E may only need 1/4 turn to bring it down a whole step. The G may need an entire turn to change the same pitch.

 

What you usually wind up having is the Low strings are flabbier then the high strings. Large core strings designed for low tuning gradually increase the core size from high string to low to compensate for the way strings tension changes as the strings are down tuned,

 

I suppose you could also use a 5 string set on a 4 string bass and simply use the 4 low strings and get the same results.

 

[isaac42]

We've been through this before. Thicker cores do not imply higher tension. Greater stiffness, yes, but not greater tension.

[WRGKMC]

No - Thicker Wraps have no bearing on tension because they provide no pull end to end.

 

The string cores bear all the tension. The thicker the core, the greater the tension at the same pitch using the same materials.

 

Manufacturers vary both the core size and wraps when making different gauged strings. Thick core strings designed for lower tuning have thicker cores and thinner wraps given the same gauge as explained below.

 

Down to the Wire

Gauges, Tension, and the Core-to-Wrap Ratio

Guitarists are typically used to thinking about string tension—that is, how easy or difficult a set of strings is to play—in terms of gauge. For instance, tuned to high E, a plain .011 string has more tension than a .009 made of the same material—a fact our fingers can easily confirm. However, when it comes to wound strings, there’s more to the question of tension and feel than meets the eye. It’s true that, tuned to low E, a .048 string feels tighter than a .046. But can there be a difference in tension between .046 strings made by different companies, assuming they’re on identical guitars and tuned to the same pitch?

The answer is yes, and although the differences may be subtle, it’s an area worth exploring. As you can see when you clip a wound string and peer at its cross section, it comprises two elements: the core wire and wrap wire. To achieve a given string gauge, manufacturers may vary the ratio between these two wires. One brand may have a thicker core and thinner wrap, while another may use a slightly thinner core but make up the difference in diameter by using a bigger wrap.

These differences affect feel, explains Eric Cocco, vice-president of LaBella Strings. “The tension of a musical string can be adjusted by simply combining different core and wrap wires. This can also be varied by using different tensile strength for the core and wrap wires.

 

As an example, an electric guitar gauge of .042 can be made by using a .016 core and a .013 wrap wire. Another way of building that string could be with a .019 core and a .0115 wrap. The gauge would be the same— .042—but the string with the .019 core would be much stiffer because of its higher core tension.”

The core-to-wrap ratio also impacts tone. “You want a significant mass on the winding,” says Jason Everly, president of Cleartone Strings, “because that’s what makes the sound waves. The thicker the mass of the wrap, relative to the size of the string, the more audible low-end frequencies you’re going to get. You’re trying to get close to a 1-to-1 ratio between core and wrap wires—at least on an acoustic string—but that’s difficult because the wrap wire will shear the core wire when you reach that ratio. So that’s the game, and everyone has their own top-secret formula as to how they overcome this and how they adjust for it.

[isaac42]

The physics of vibrating strings are pretty well understood. For a given length and pitch, the tension is determined by the mass per unit length. The thickness of the core doesn't matter, and the thickness of the windings matter only as they affect the mass. So, if a string with a thicker core and thinner windings and a string with a thinner core and thicker windings have the same mass per unit length, then they will have the same tension when tuned to the same pitch. The string with the thicker core will feel stiffer, but it will not have higher tension.

 

As I said, we've been through this before. I've even shown you the equations. Why are you so resistant to the science and the facts?

[isaac42]

Back to the main subject. I put a set on another bass, which is tuned to E standard. They still feel pretty light to me, but better than on the downtuned bass. I still think I'd prefer the EXL170BT set to the EXL220BT, but, at $12 a set, I can live with these for a while.

[ThudMaker]

I haven't tried a balanced set before. I may have to after reading this thread.

[isaac42]

I recommend it. Might not be right for everyone, and might not be right for you, but you won't know until you try. I like 'em.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Nice review Isaac!

[isaac42]

Thanks, Phil.

[isaac42]

Update. On one of the basses on which I put the balanced strings, I had previously adjusted the pickups, raising the bass side and lowering the treble, in order to get a stronger low end. Since putting on the balanced set, I have readjusted the pickups to flat, because the balanced set, with its heavier low strings, puts out plenty of low end and doesn't need to have the pickups adjusted to compensate.

[DeepEnd]

Update. . . . I have readjusted the pickups to flat' date=' because the balanced set, with its heavier low strings, puts out plenty of low end and doesn't need to have the pickups adjusted to compensate.[/quote']

^ One of those things that should be obvious but isn't except in hindsight. I may never try a set like those but it's good to know.